Food Security: Indicators, Measurement, and the Impact of Trade Openness (W I D E R Studies in Development Economics)

396 Pages·2008·2.87 MB·English

by  Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis

Food Security
UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-
WIDER) was established by the United Nations University as its first
research and training centre and started work in Helsinki, Finland in
1985.Thepurposeoftheinstituteistoundertakeappliedresearchand
policy analysis on structural changes affecting developing and transi-
tionaleconomies,toprovideaforumfortheadvocacyofpolicieslead-
ing to robust, equitable, and environmentally sustainable growth, and
topromotecapacitystrengtheningandtraininginthefieldofeconomic
andsocialpolicymaking.Itsworkiscarriedoutbystaffresearchersand
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andinstitutionsaroundtheworld.
World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) Kata-
janokanlaituri6B,FIN-00160Helsinki,Finland.www.wider.unu.edu
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads inter-
nationaleffortstodefeathunger.Servingbothdevelopedanddevelop-
ing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as
equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source
of knowledge and information. FAO helps developing countries and
countriesintransitionmodernizeandimproveagriculture,forestry,and
fisheriespracticesandensuregoodnutritionforall.Sinceitsfoundingin
1945,FAOhasfocusedspecialattentionondevelopingruralareas,home
to 70 percent of the world’s poor and hungry people. FAO’s activities
comprisefourmainareas:
(cid:1)
Puttinginformationwithinreach
(cid:1)
Sharingpolicyexpertise
(cid:1)
Providingameetingplacefornations
(cid:1)
Bringingknowledgetothefield.
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), established in 1969
promotessocialscienceresearchinIndia.ICSSRsupportstwenty-seven
researchinstitutesinIndiaengagedinmulti-disciplinaryresearch.ICSSR
is the nodal agency for implementing the social science component
of the Cultural Exchange Programmes (CEPs) signed between the Gov-
ernment of India and other countries, and with foreign counterparts
outsideCEPs,foractivitiesliketheexchangeofscholars,jointseminars,
and research projects. ICSSR is a member of the International Social
Science Council (ISSC)—Paris, the Association of Asian Social Science
Research Council (AASSREC), Science Council of Asia—Japan, and the
International Federation of Social Sciences Organizations (IFSSO). Col-
laborative ties have also been established with UNU-WIDER and the
OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD).
Food Security
Indicators, Measurement, and the
Impact of Trade Openness
Edited by
Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis, Shabd S. Acharya, and
Benjamin Davis
UNU-WIDER Studies in Development Economics
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Foreword
As many as 2.8 million children and 300,000 women die needlessly every
year because of malnutrition in developing countries. Despite the enormity
of the problem, and even though reducing hunger is one of the Millen-
nium Development Goals (MDGs), hunger and food security receive less
attention than poverty reduction from both a policy and research perspec-
tive. The lack of action in the fight against hunger may have arisen from
a belief that success in poverty reduction, resulting from market-driven
economic development, would automatically take care of the problem of
hunger.However,thisthinkingdoesnottakeintoaccountthreepoints:first,
povertyreductiontakestime,whilethehungryneedimmediaterelief;second,
the means to feed everyone are readily and cheaply available; and third,
hunger is as much a cause as an effect of poverty. Unless action is taken
to reduce hunger directly, progress in cutting poverty will be slow. More-
over, a substantial and sustainable reduction in hunger will greatly improve
the chances of meeting not only the MDGs related to poverty reduction,
but also those related to education, child mortality, maternal health, and
disease.
Thisvolumebringstogetheramajorcollectionofstudiesfocusingonsome
under-researchedareasoffoodsecuritybothatthenationalaswellashouse-
holdandindividuallevels.Thestudiesarisefromatwo-yearprojectentitled
‘HungerandFoodSecurity’,undertakenbyUNU-WIDERincollaborationwith
the Indian Council of Social Science Research and the Food and Agriculture
OrganizationoftheUnitedNations.
The studies point out that high growth rates in some developing coun-
tries may make headlines, but they are not consonant with rates at which
nutritionstatusisimproving(ifatall).Thiscallsformoreefficiently targeted
interventions by the state. Women’s status matters tremendously for child-
health, hence gender issues require more attention. At the macro level, freer
agricultural trade tends to increase import dependence for food for some
countries.Atthemicrolevel,itraisestheriskexposureofsmallfarmers,which
hasanegativeimpactontheirnutritionstatus.
The target audience for this volume is broad, encompassing staff from
international organizations and policymakers interested in policy-relevant
v
Foreword
results on malnutrition, targeting, and measuring the impact of trade lib-
eralization, through to researchers from various disciplines linked with
development.
AnthonyShorrocks
Director,UNU-WIDER
vi
Acknowledgements
ThisvolumeistheresultofajointprojectmeetingbetweenUNU-WIDERand
the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), with research contri-
butions from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO). The editors are grateful to Adam Swallow, Publications Assistant at
UNU-WIDER,forhisinvaluablesupportinpreparingthemanuscript,andalso
wishtothankLiisaRoponenforherhelp.UNU-WIDERthankstheICSSRfor
itsfinancialinputs,andtheInstituteofDevelopmentStudies(IDS–Jaipur)for
hostingthefirstprojectworkshopinMarch2005.
UNU-WIDERacknowledgesthefinancialcontributionstotheresearchpro-
grammebythegovernmentsofDenmark(RoyalMinistryofForeignAffairs),
Finland (Ministry for Foreign Affairs), Norway (Royal Ministry of Foreign
Affairs),Sweden(SwedishInternationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency—
Sida)andtheUnitedKingdom(DepartmentforInternationalDevelopment—
DfID).
vii
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Contents
ListofFigures xi
ListofTables xii
ListofAcronymsandAbbreviations xvii
NotesonContributors xxi
1. Introduction 1
BasudebGuha-Khasnobis,ShabdS.Acharya,andBenjaminDavis
Part I Issuesin Measurementand the Quantitative
Analysis ofFoodSecurity
2. MeasuringFoodSecurityUsingRespondents’PerceptionofFood
ConsumptionAdequacy 13
MauroMigotto,BenjaminDavis,CalogeroCarletto,andKathleenBeegle
3. MeasuresofFoodInsecurityattheHouseholdLevel 42
IndranilDuttaandCraigGundersen
4. Tomorrow’sHunger:AFrameworkforAnalysingVulnerabilityto
FoodSecurity 62
ChristianRomerLøvendalandMarcoKnowles
5. Women’sStatusandChildren’sFoodSecurityinPakistan 95
BasudebGuha-KhasnobisandGautamHazarika
6. TheChangingPatternofUndernutritioninIndia:AComparative
AnalysisAcrossRegions 109
BrindaViswanathanandJ.V.Meenakshi
7. FoodSecurityinVietnamDuringthe1990s:TheEmpiricalEvidence 129
VascoMolini
8. MeasuringtheEfficacyofTargetedSchemes:PublicWorks
ProgrammesinIndia 150
NilabjaGhoshandBasudebGuha-Khasnobis
ix